Fred Sica
Formosa Cafe– Sica Gang headquarters
Alfred Sica aka Fred was a well known Los Angeles gangster who was associated with Mobster’s, Bugsy Siegel, and Mickey Cohen. He was involved in every racket from illegal bookmaking and extortion to prostitution and drug dealing . Fred was once described by a prosecutor as being a live and breathing crime wave.
Fred was also a top lieutenant in the Sica Gang. The gang was made up of Fred Sica’s brothers. They were all hardcore hoodlums and led by the murderous Joe “JS” Sica.
The Sica’s helped to organize independent bookies for the Siegel and Cohen crime consordeom— that was allied with Jack Dragna. ..Fred and the gang eventually partnered up with Chicago mobster, Chris Petti.
Headquartered in Hollywood, at the Formosa Cafe , the rapacious crew committed every crime from blackmailing movie stars, to past posting bookies and selling smack…The Sica bunch even had a crucial witness clipped who was due to testify against them in a big-league drug case.. The case was scratched after the rubout of the rat.
JS and Freddy were in the papers almost as much a Mickey Cohen. The Gallo Gang had nothing on the Sica gang.
I worked with them all, and so did Mobster,Mike “Rizzi” Rizzitello. I even got fatso Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio of the Boston Mob a spot on their crew after they moved their operation down south to San Diego. “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio was a fence jumper at that time.
A small trivia note, At one time, Fred Sica was banging boozer Barbara Peyton , but then again, who wasn’t”?
Anthony Fiato, “The Animal”
